Déjà vu all over again.

Sometimes when it’s absolutely necessary to make a point we use redundant phrases. Or if we want to make sure we got our point across, we’ll repeat it again. The reason is because we just don’t trust that saying it once is sufficient enough. But each and every time we repeat it again we’re adding unnecessary words – though the general consensus among writers is that it’s usually best to be concise.

All of the italicized phrases above are redundancies. We use them often in speech and they can slip in easily when we write. When you think about each of them, and the other’s listed below, you realize that the qualifiers are superfluous. For example, you cannot have a consensus that is not general, the definition of consensus is a general agreement. And there are no levels of necessity, either something is necessary or it’s not.

Following are a few more redundancies to watch for in your writing:

A new initiative
Artificial prothesis
Close proximity
Interact with each other
Self-confessed
Just recently